Plants in your garden can suffer from infections caused by many different viruses. Once a plant is infected there is no chemical treatment that will destroy the virus without also killing the plant.

Signs of Virus Infection

1. Irregular white or yellow mottling on normally green leaves such as rings, mosaic patterns or other mottling.
2. Distorted leaves with curling and or crinkling
3. Malformed flowers, damaged fruit and early leaf fall.
4. Once a plant is infected the plant may be stunted and unable to produce flower or fruit.
5. Some plants are just carriers and do not demonstrate symptoms other suffer from wilt disease.

More About Viruses on Plants

1. Viral infections are generally transmitted from plant to plant by insects such as aphids, thrips, whitefly, eelworms, and some beetles.
2. Some control can be provided by keeping these pests at bay.
3. Viruses can be prevalent and long lasting in soil.
4. Each virus is plant species specific and some varieties are more prone than others. Potato blight decimates crops, tomato mosaic virus damages fruit, cucumbers suffer as do many flowering plants e.g. carnations, roses and chrysanthemum.
5. Plum pox potyvirus  the variants of which causes Sharka the viral disease of stone fruit crops.

Other Plant Health Problems

1. Fungus and fungal infections
2. Virus and Viral diseases
3. Bacterial diseases
4. Pests